Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC Cuts Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC cut its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,050 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,500 shares during the quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC owned 0.05% of Warner Music Group worth $8,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.15. 3,249,039 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,770,485. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.24. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.20.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.21). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 64.64% and a net margin of 7.14%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The company's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is 82.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $34.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.95.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin' Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.